burning poplar?

[red oak]

If I had easy access to popular, I'd split it now and use it for next fall - it should be dry by then. In my climate I could burn poplar probably into December, then that's that much less oak I have to burn. As others have mentioned the splitting generally is easy and it dries pretty fast. I wouldn't pay for it or go out of my way to get it, but if it's easy and free it'd be hard to turn down.

 

[HisTreeNut]

I burn "effing poplar" also. Great for the shoulder season and throws off decent heat. As someone else mentioned, the heat is not oak heat but good. It does split easy & season fast which is an added bonus. I don't turn it away.

 

[Jay106n]

If you got it, might as well c/s/s. Not the best, but like several others have said it is very easy to work with, it makes great shoulder season wood, dries fast, and starts easy. I've been burning it for the last 2 months before I hit my good hardwood for the winter.

 

[venator260]

This thread was good to read.

I just stacked about a cord of popular yesterday. My dad helped take down some trees from a coworkers yard. We were going to sell the popular for logs, but the truck driver said the mill would reject them, too rotten. I figured since they were already laying in dad's driveway, we may as well turn them into firewood.

They were sopping wet, but I don't plan to get to the stack they're in for 2 more years.

 

[2broke2ride]

This thread is funny because the smell of fresh cut and split poplar is the smell I associate with "firewood" due to my dad and grandfather burning a ton of it when I was a kid growing up. You see, dad and gramp cut logs to pay taxes on the family farm so if they where cutting poplar pulp logs then a trailer load of poplar came home cut and split every night for firewood, if they where cutting birch bolt wood then birch came home and so on and so forth.

 

[Wood Duck]

What kind of poplar are you asking about? Tulip Poplar is not similar to "true" poplars -aspen, cottonwood, etc. Neither is high density wood, but Tulip Poplar is more or less a mid-range wood, while true poplars are less dense than most hardwoods and even some softwoods.

Both are easy to split and I'd cut them up if I had some available, but I wouldn't choose it if I had other options like maple or oak.

 

[woodhog73]

I burn it some for shoulder season and some to make kindling

 

[Adabiviak]

Maybe I got a bum one, but it took surprisingly long to season (the rounds kept trying to sprout little branches after two years), they were a drag to split (little wooden straps would keep the splits together until I knocked them off), the ash to BTU ratio was no ball of fire, and it reeks. I may give it another shot given people's experience with it here... maybe just a round or two though.

 

[Destructor]

I started burning tulip this past weekend, I’ve been burning pine and cedar. I scavenged around a half cord of tulip last spring, cut and split in June and is ready to burn. So far I like it but only used it towards the end of a one burning session in a masonry fireplace. Seems to burn a bit like maple. I’ll begin burning my harder woods towards the end of December.

 

[highanddryinco]

I burn lots of it (Aspen) and love it. About two hours into a morning burn right now cooking along at 650-ish with a good two hours or more left in this load. Unless they don't fit in the stove door, they don't even get split. I doesn't get much easier.

 

[Sprinter]

There's a lot to be said for a wood like that in some cases. For new stove owners, quick seasoning is very important. For shoulder seasons, light woods are perfect. Even cold weather if you can feed the stove during the day. As for Poplar (Cottonwood or Aspen), in most charts, it is about 20-25% less in BTU/volume as Douglas Fir which is a very good fuel. Good enough in my book if it's otherwise handy.

This is assuming you have free access to the wood. If I had to pay for it, I would discount the price according to BTU ratings. You may want to be mindful that it will take up that much more space when stacked, though.

In many places, you have to burn what you have access to anyway. Aspen, Colorado?

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

What kind of poplar are you asking about? Tulip Poplar is not similar to "true" poplars -aspen, cottonwood, etc. Neither is high density wood, but Tulip Poplar is more or less a mid-range wood, while true poplars are less dense than most hardwoods and even some softwoods.

Both are easy to split and I'd cut them up if I had some available, but I wouldn't choose it if I had other options like maple or oak.

We call Tulip Poplar, or Tulip Tree, 'Poplar' around us.

 

[Hasufel]

We call Tulip Poplar, or Tulip Tree, 'Poplar' around us.

Agree. I think a lot of it has to do with what species are found in any given area. Around here I don't think we have any true poplars (at least trees called poplar that are true poplars) so poplar = tulip poplar, even though it's in the magnolia family. FWIW, I recall reading that "poplar" lumber is actually tulip poplar. In any event, the stuff is lowest priority for me, given the effort required and the limited heat value. But that's because I can afford to be choosy--I've got way too much oak left to process to bother with tulip poplar.

 

[Sprinter]

-I've got way too much oak left to process to bother with tulip poplar.

Color me green.

 

[Hasufel]

Color me green.

--> Done!

The down side of having a lot of oak is that I'm racing against time to get it split & stacked. I might be moving in a few years and won't be able to take any firewood with me, and as you know oak can take several years to season. Faster drying is one area where poplar has a definite advantage.

 

[StihlKicking]

I find that tulip poplar seasons fast. It also burns fast and hot. In the OWB it's great for mild days otherwise I need to mix it with some denser wood to achieve 12 hour burn times. It's not my first choice of wood but I never turn my nose up at it either as long as it's free.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I like it. Cuts and splits easy when modestly dried. Sure it burns quicker but i don't feel bad burning it on a 40 degree day versus using my "good wood". We'd all have oak if it was that simple but most have to take whats available and i never feel bad about cutting popular. It has its place in my wood arsenal and always will.

 

[husky345 vermont resolute]

Well said kindred

 

[FTG-05]

I have tons of poplar, both in dried firewood and stacked trees ready to be bucked, split and stacked. I don't like it as much as pine, but it's far better than that worse-than-useless Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus Altissima).

But Poplar is both useful and has some pretty good qualities; let's see if we can count the ways:

- Easy to cut, easy to split and dries out fairly fast even though you can see the water being wrung out when you split it.

- Easier to pick up since it's lighter as well. 2' rounds are doable, while 1' rounds are a piece of cake; can't say that about hickory or oak!

- Burns fast and fairly hot, but doesn't last long; perfect for warmer but still wood stove weather (i.e. shoulder season).

- Almost perfect recreational firewood, for all the reasons above. Recreational burning, like in an open fire pit, eats wood like a tank drinks gas. Why would you want to use your valuable hardwoods for that?

- Perfect "loaner" wood for that less than useful friend, acquaintance or BIL; yea we all have one. You know the type that can't plan past the end of their noses. Since you're not selling it to them, full disclosure isn't necessary; let them learn on their own.

I have about 20 downed trees I need to process. I'm debating whether or not I should just stop processing it after I've put up about 3-4 cords of it. I'm currently running about 4-5 years ahead right now and I have a big standing dead hickory that I'm gong to need to process here shortly. I just finished a +10 cord woodshed, so I have some options.